The Environment Agency has issued the following advice to keep your home safe from flood water:

Gas, electricity and water

• Put plugs into sinks and weigh them down with something heavy


• Turn off gas, electricity and water supplies at the mains.


• Find out where these are well in advance of any flood


• Unplug all electrical items and store upstairs or as high up as possible

Reduce flood water getting into your home

• Use a silicone sealant - open doors and windows, smear a layer of this around the frame, then shut and lock the door/window


• Ideally, cover doors, windows and airbricks with plywood, sandbags or metal sheeting

Furniture and appliances

• Move as much furniture and electrical items as you can upstairs. Alternatively raise them up on bricks or blocks - this may be very helpful for large appliances such as fridges or freezers


• Move furniture away from walls, as this helps when drying your property later


• If you can, roll up carpets and rugs and put them upstairs


• If there is no time to remove curtains, hang them up over the rail so they are kept above flood water


• Leave internal doors open, or ideally, remove them and store them upstairs

Personal Items

• You cannot replace sentimental items. Think about permanently moving these upstairs, so you do not forget to move them in the case of a flood


• Keep important personal documents in a sealed bag, and in a location safe from floodwater

Outside the house

• Move anything not fixed down into a safer location, e.g. dustbins, garden chemicals car oil and similar


• Move your car to higher ground to avoid damage


• Weigh down manhole covers outside the house to prevent them floating away and leaving a hazardous hole

For 24 hour advice and flood warnings call Floodline on 0845 988 1188.